Song of My Heart Demonstrators

My Digital Studio: Card Guards

This past month I presented My Digital Studio at the Stampin' Up Milwaukee regional conference, an opportunity I welcomed, as I get the feeling that lots of demonstrators don't quite yet know what to do with MDS. Over the week that I had to prepare, immersed in MDS again after a hiatus during my busy Sale A Bration season, I fell in love all over again. I am convinced that if demonstrators truly caught on to the potential of My Digital Studio, it could radically re-energize their businesses.

Another thing I realized is that IF MDS were just for demos--just a business tool and not a product we sell--it would be worth it, for that alone. The business potential of MDS is amazing. And since I am not the leading authority on digital scrapbooking techniques by any means, I chose to focus on sharing some business-related MDS ideas for my presentation.

The first thing I shared was a Card Guard idea that both gives customers an idea of what MDS is all about, and gives you a cheap, fun thing to give them as a thank you.

A 'card guard", for those of you who haven't heard the term before, is a piece of cardstock placed over the embellished card front before you put it in the envelope to mail. It protects the card and ensures that the envelope doesn't get demolished by postal machines. I'm sure the USPS appreciates it when we stampers use these!

Well, the card guards I have seen were really basic--a piece of cardstock, sometimes crimped, sometimes with a cute saying printed on a label and stuck on it. I decided that would be a handy thing to have a supply of, so I decided to print some and knew I would use MDS so it would be professional and cute. Here's a photo of the front and back sides.

I designed it using the Sale A Bration reward CD to get that out there, and I liked it, but realized the back was just wasted space. So I added a 2012 calendar using the amazing new Calendar feature in the Design Center. You can add a calendar of the month or the whole year for any year between now and 2022, and it will automatically set up the dates for you. Everything about the calendar is customizable, from the font size and style, position of the numbers, addition of the headings, and the lines or boxes. You can have as small a calendar as my Card Guard sized one, or as large as a 12x12 page.

This feature is SO awesome. No more having to purchasing a calendar template every year, and no more waiting for them to come out with one! If you don't see the Calendar feature on your Design Center (right hand side of MDS), make sure you are using the latest update for MDS and it should appear.

I ALWAYS use Stampin' Up's professional print services with My Digital Studio for best results and the most business sense, so my original intention was to have these Card Guards printed with the new postcard option. However, if I was willing to cut them in half, I would get twice as many for almost the same price, by ordering the A-2 card size. Plus, they come with envelopes. Can't beat that!

Also, I say go ahead and leave the MDS logo on your projects. It's fantastic advertising, and another way that customers will realize they are holding an actual sample of the professional MDS product that they, too, can make at home. Getting MDS samples into your customers' hands is priceless advertising to people who think they won't like digital designing.

You're also giving them value added, because you're giving your customers something they can actually use (a pocket calendar). And why not? it's just a throwaway piece of cardstock, otherwise. MDS-made card guards can set you apart from other demonstrators in that way, as well.

This post has gotten a little long, so I will break up the rest of my presentation into separate articles. Check back for more business-related MDS ideas shortly. I am convinced that My Digital Studio will soon be known as one of the best tools a demonstrator can have to customize every aspect of their business.

Getting your head back in the game

I always suffer from post-Sale A Bration blues around this time of year. For the past few weeks, I've been going, going, going, with shows and classes and stamp camps and clubs. While it's always crazy fun, I step gratefully off the SAB treadmill each year. But the runner's high wears off all too soon.

Taking a mental vacation can be a good thing--a necessary thing--when you've been working as hard without a break as business demos often do during certain times of the year. However, getting your head back in the game can be a bit of a challenge, if you have been slightly too successful at relaxing!

A sense of letdown is totally normal after a big, multi-week sale. The constant flow of orders arriving via Mr. Brown trickles to a halt. You have to retrain yourself to not be disappointed in orders under the magic $50 mark, that would have delighted you in the past but now seem small.

Sometimes we recruited so well during SAB that suddenly we find ourself lacking customers. And since everyone just had a party, no one wants to book again so soon. For two months now you've been working event to event. You unpack from one and start packing for the next. Now suddenly, there are days between events--maybe even weeks. There is nothing pressing that must be accomplished--and so you don't know where to start.

Start by assuring yourself that blase' feelings or a sudden lack of direction is quite typical and does not mean that you are losing your touch or that your business is headed down the drain. Here are some practical tips to help you get kick-started after a big sale period:

• Make sure all your new SAB contacts are entered into Customer Manager, your email address book, your address book, your birthday calendar, and anywhere else you keep your contact info. Don't let your efforts go down the drain due to lack of follow up with new customers.
• Schedule an event for your customers to use up their consumables, such a crops or worknights. They're likely pretty stocked up after multiple Sale A Bration orders, and you'll want to help them run down their supplies so they won't feel too guilty when they want to place orders for the new catalog.
• Continue to share ideas on your blog or Facebook page with Sale A Bration products you know they have. You may be tired of them after three months plus the pre-order period, but your customers just got them, and will need inspiration.
• If they won't host again so soon after having back to back parties in their social circles, host your own workshop. Call past hostesses who didn't have one during SAB, too. If you have extra SAB sets (who doesn't?), offer those as a booking incentive.
• Use the down time to stamp something just for yourself, like a home decor piece or a creativity journal. When's the last time you made something pretty just for you?
• Shake things up. If paper is your preferred medium, try your hand at fabric for a bit, or dust off My Digital Studio. Participate in a challenge, or enter the Artisan Design Team contest.
• It's easy to get burned out during an extended sales period, so don't push it if it isn't happening right now. There's nothing wrong with needing a break. Close the stamp room door for a week after you deliver those final orders, and plan something fun with the family instead.  Schedule a week's blog posts in advance and then try to go on the computer just once a day. But set a time limit on the break, or your vacation may stretch out longer than is good for your business.

Do you have routines for post-Sale A Bration blues? Maybe something you traditionally reward yourself with for making it through a busy time of year? Feel free to share your comments below.

Dream BIG, friend!

Lyssa

Creating confident, self sufficient papercrafters

"Give a man a fish and you will feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you will feed him for a lifetime." Chinese proverb

Recent online discussions with other demonstrators brought up an interesting question: How much is too much, when it comes to prepping things in advance for your customers? The answers were as varied as we are. I'm a big fan of NOT doing too much of the work ahead of time, and here's a quick outline of the reasons why doing too many of the more difficult or advanced parts of projects for your customers can backfire.

For YOUR sake--

First and foremost, the reason that springs to mind is the bottom line. Demonstrators who spend a lot of time pre-punching, die-cutting, embossing, tying bows, cutting ribbon or even stamping before their events are most likely not charging customers enough for the extra hour or two of prep time they are putting in.

Even making up project packets can be time-consuming and unnecessary step for many events. I'm not saying I never make up packets or pre-punch anything in advance, but as business people, we need to make sure that the time we are putting into things like this is paying off. I always say, I don't have time to do all my own stamping, much less theirs!

Secondly, over-prepping can lead to burnout in short order. The customer often becomes accustomed to the "spoiling" and expects it to continue. There is little true realization of the time involved in prepping for events, and demonstrators can come to resent that their customers do not appreciate the work that they are putting in.

For THEIR sake--

Third, golden opportunities to upsell are lost when too much is done behind the scenes, out of sight. When we don't teach customers to measure their own ribbon on the rulers on the Grid Paper, using our lovely Craft and Ribbon Scissors, we have left money on the table. If we score at home and never bring the Simply Scored board along, they may not ever see the need to purchase it. If you don't let them get their hands on the Big Shot, they will wind up thinking it is something they need extensive training to use.

Finally, the reason I would say is the most important not to do too much in advance of events, is our role as a teacher. Our goal should be to create self-sufficient, confident stampers who know how to score according to the instructions, how to use their Paper Trimmer correctly, who know how to accurately estimate how much ribbon is needed, and can correctly use the plates and accessories for the Big Shot without you hovering over them or treating it like glass.

How many customers don't even know that you cut a sheet of 8.5x11 cardstock in half to form two cards? We need to help them learn to tie bows, learn what adhesives are correct for the situation, learn to count and lay out the pieces and parts to the project and then assemble it. Teach them not to be intimidated by their tools. We should never do so much for them that we are actually cheating them out of the learning experience and the joy of creativity and true accomplishment when they complete their project and feel confident that they could go home and repeat that on their own.

Again, there is a time and place for all levels of prepping in advance, and there is definitely something to be said for making your customers feel spoiled and pampered now and again, but I hope next time you are getting ready for an event, you will take a moment to think about what and why you do things in advance, and make a conscious decision to let your customers learn (and make mistakes along the way) in at least one area in which you may previously have had a tendency to avoid.

Is your goal to teach your ladies? To promote the personal creativity and growth of your customers?  The same principles can apply to your downlines. Are you giving them a fish, or teaching them to fish? And if not for them, do it for yourself.

Just as my goal is happy, self-sufficient, confident customers, my goal for YOU is a healthy, self-sufficient, confident business. Spoil them with chocolate--but TEACH them to stamp. 

Dream BIG, friend!

Lyssa

Firing a customer

I've arrived, according to a friend. How do I know? Because I recently "fired" my first customer. Not too bad for six years and being in the top 100 in my business! The experience would seem to be liberating, even exhilarating, but in reality was very sobering and caused a lot of introspection.

When a complaint comes to light, it is our first responsibility to examine the situation and make sure our own behavior has been blameless and reasonable. Have we truly been fulfilling our duties? Have we been trying our level best to provide the same amount of service to everyone fairly? Have we been slacking off lately, often thinking, "I just don't want to deal with that right now?"

We should also consider that there could be legitimate problems with our product and the customer may have just had the misfortune to run into a string of unrelated issues, and our disenchantment with the customer is simply due to the volume of interactions with them.

Sometimes, however, there is smoke without a fire. Sometimes, there is no legitimate reason for the way the customer is acting and their behavior has escalated past what could be considered reasonable, adult interaction between a business and a consumer. "The customer is always right" is all well and good until you run into a situation where the customer is not only wrong, but chooses to behave in a manner that is professionally or personally unacceptable.

Recognize these points that might cause you to consider firing a customer:

1. when you recognize a negative pattern evolving. Every customer is going to have an issue eventually with a product, backorder, or service. Not every customer flips out and sends a nasty email each time before you're even aware of the problem, much less had the chance to make it right. It might be a good idea to document the communications so you have a record to refer to when considering the situation.
2. when the customer's response is wildly out of proportion to the problem, beyond what could be considered a reasonable level of annoyance or concern, or even the heat of the moment.
3. if they require excessive soothing or pacifying behavior on the part of the consultant, or demand freebies or extras  to make up for their trouble. It is acceptable to offer a "thanks for your patience" type gift after an issue has been resolved, but occasionally some people will make a practice out of seeing what they can get if they make a big enough stink.
4. if they continue to bring up past, resolved issues either in public or in private, and won't let  the current issue go after it has been satisfactorily solved.
5. when their language crosses over from complaining to threatening, or starts off threatening instead of escalating more naturally if they feel their concerns are going unresolved.
6. when the contact strays from being about the issue or service into personal attacks of any kind, or threats to bring the company into the argument.
7. if the customer is taking up finite resources, such as excessive amounts of time or supplies, that need to be more evenly distributed across the entire customer base.
8. when the tangible and intangible benefits of keeping the customer have obviously become outweighed by the emotional and business benefits of cutting ties.
9. when the demonstrator finds themselves consciously or unconsciously avoiding contact, dreading contact, or constantly dwelling on the situation.

Take the time to make the decision right. Don't decide anything in haste or when you are tired or hungry or just plain grouchy that day. When the idea crosses your mind, immediately shelve it until the next day. Discuss it with your spouse if possible. Ask your upline or mentor or a close friend if they will give you their perspective, keeping the customer's name anonymous and the conversation one hundred percent confidential.

If you do decide the time has come to sever ties, here are some tips for getting the message across professionally, but loud and clear.

1. mentally take back control. Your soon-to-be-ex customer has been running roughshod over you, and it is time for you to step up and do a hard thing to benefit your business in the long-term.
2. stay professional and keep it short. As fun as it would be to yell, "I don't have to take this nonsense, you big meanie!" it is not a good idea and serves no purpose. They will not change their behavior just because you tell them the truth about the way they are acting and how it makes you feel. It does provide a nice vent for the tension you are feeling, however, so go ahead and type that out. Use it as a guide, but figure out how to rephrase and condense what you are saying into a professional-sounding, firm response that clearly articulates your decision.
3. keep the company out of it if you can. You are an independent contractor and you do not represent the whole company. While customers do have trouble separating the company from the representative and lumping everything together as one big rotten barrelful instead of a single bad apple, you have an obligation to the company to make it clear to the customer that you are initiating the action on your own and that the customer can certainly continue to patronize the company if they wish. 
4. do provide contact info for  nearby alternate consultants. I know this may be a customer you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy, but again, you have to protect the company's sales and try your hardest not to alienate the customer from the company, even though you definitely want your own contact with them to cease. 
5. don't taint their potential relationship with the next demonstrator. I thought about this one long and hard before I decided that even giving someone a "heads up" that there might be a loopy customer looking for a new demonstrator was unfair to both the customer and the other demo. After all, there is a chance, however slight, that the new relationship will work out just fine, or that the customer may have learned a lesson in respect from your own encounter. The only exceptions I can think of is any situation where the customer appeared to be potentially physically dangerous, as opposed to just someone who can be unpleasant to deal with. I would hope none of you would every have the misfortune to run into that!

What about bad-mouthing, you might ask? I won't lie to you. The potential fall-out from firing a customer can be worrisome. Home-based businesses stand or fall by word of mouth, after all. It's another reason you need to be dead sure this is the right action for you. And then you will just have to trust in your own integrity and the loyalty of your customers. Resist the urge to spread your version of the story. You are the professional, and just as you wouldn't want your own transactions with a business broadcast, you owe that to your former customer.

If the former customer was as bad as it took to cause you to come to this place in the relationship, chances are, there is a trail of disturbances behind them. People either already have her number, or will shortly come to the same conclusion you did. Don't allow the person to continue to hold you hostage out of fear of bad publicity. You are in control, or you should be. Not doing anything about a bad situation or allowing yourself to be treated poorly is putting the other person in charge of your business--and your thoughts and emotions.

I hope this article DIDN'T ring a bell for 99% of you. I wish you only marvelous customer friends for the entirety of your Stampin' Up journey! But if it did, I hope my thoughts and experience on the subject were of help. I also encourage you to call Demonstrator Support, as I did. They have years and years of cummulative wisdom on all kinds of topics. They may be able to help you come up with a less drastic solution to the problem(s), or even help you confirm that you are in the right to sever the relationship. Plus, if your abusive customer makes good on a threat to call the company, you will have an incident number to refer to should it become necessary.

Here's to emotionally healthy businesses as well as successful ones. And here's to all the customers who make it all worthwhile and a joy to serve them, each and every day, year after year. Don't let the 1% spoil your attitude towards the other 99%, or that ex-customer is still in charge.

Dream BIG!

Putting together a compelling recruit packet

My downline Business Challenge this month is to put together some recruit packets in advance. Many of my group discovered for the first time this year how Sale A Bration greatly increases the attention of interested potential recruits, and were left scrambling around for information, trying to print off forms, and figure out how to do the various add-ons and discounts.Now, a perfect upline would have held this challenge BEFORE Sale a Bration... add that to my yearly, chronologically-laid out calendar for next year!

Imagine this all-too-real scenario at a coffee shop:

Interested Ida: "...And you know, I talked to Handsome Harry, and I'm really thinking about it."

Daisy Demo (squeals): "That's so awesome! I'm so excited for you! I just love being a demo."

II: "Yeah, I'm excited, too. I'm not totally positive yet, but I think I might want to do this."

DD: "I can get you some info and some forms so you can see how you can personalize the kit..." (rummages in purse for dog-eared business card.) "This is all I have with me right now... do you have a catalog already? I have one in the car I can give you, but it's a little sticky..."

II: "Oh that's ok. I can wait. I picked up a little pamphlet thingy at your show, but I think it was outdated, because it had a stamp set from two years ago in there."

DD: "Oh, that might be... I will be sure to get you a new one. I have a whole packet I hand out to people (thinking: or I will, as soon as I pull one together!). I can run it by your house this week."

II (getting ready to leave): "That would be great. I want to read up and make sure Handsome Harry's really on board. I'll be watching for the packet. Great seeing you again. "

DD (makes mental note to swipe a decent looking school folder from her oldest to put everything in): "Ok! It's a deal! I'm so glad we ran into each other! Bye! Oh, wait, I need your address! Here, write it on this napkin!" (rummages for pen and pulls out a broken crayon)

How much more professional and impressive would it be if you had a folder all ready to go, that you could just pull out of your bag or your car when someone expressed interest? That you knew in advance had all the collected information, up to date forms, and the latest brochure? And you could carry on the recruiting conversation without sounding like an idiot while your mind raced ahead in panic?

Here are some collected tips for that wonderfully awkward, exciting moment when you realize someone is truly interested in learning more:

• Presentation is important! Don't just hand them a wad of papers to look through. Get a nice folder and embellish it with a wheel stamp, or use the ones available on a supply order. Put the materials in the order you want your potential recruit to look through them.Fun things first, then the forms, and finally the IDA.
• Include something fun in with all that business material--a handstamped card, a card kit, a sheet of quick card layouts, a template, old Inspiration Sheets, etc.
• Even if you plan on signing people up online, print out the Starter Kit Order forms. This will give them a worksheet for choosing how to personalize their kit, and show them everything they will be getting. If that is filled out, the online sign-up process will be a piece of cake.
• Create a handout that specifically sends them where they need to go to sign up online and lists what they will need to have ready in order to complete the process, with your contact info and assurances to be there if they have questions.
• Use the most current, up to date recruiting brochure from Stampin' Up. These were recently redesigned to be less specific as to kit contents, so they can be used from year to year. However, when there are significant tweaks to the Career Plan, you will need new brochures. Make sure your contact info is on the back.
• I have a form letter that tells my personal story and shares a few of the highlights of demonstratorship. At the end I let them know the various ways I can be contacted for more info, and assure them I will be available every step of the way. 
• Write a personal message on a large sticky note and put it on your form letter or inside the folder. Let them know you're excited for them to be thinking about starting the journey. Mention a characteristic or asset they already possess that will help them be a great demonstrator.
• Put a Stampin' Up sticky note on the front of each packet. Then, when you hand them out, ask the recipient to write their address and contact info on the note and give it back to you. This will prevent the ball from being left entirely in their court, should they fail to get back with you.
• Keep a recruit packet in your car, protecting it from mishaps with a Craft Keeper (I also keep a catalog and mini in there as well.) Put a note on your planner to check it once per quarter to keep it up to date, or replace a damaged envelope. 
• Keep another recruit packet in your workshop tote. Don't leave home without it! I take mine out during the show, tell everyone what it is, and leave it right on the display table so that anyone who is interested can take it home with them.
• Consider making up a smaller, simpler recruiting info packet for events where you will be handing a lot of them out, such as a craft show or vendor fair. These don't need all the heavy-duty info reserved for very serious potential recruits, as they are likely only getting picked up by casual shoppers. Make them cute and fun, with just enough info to spark more interest--and of course, your full slate of contact information.
• Don't forget to replenish your stock of recruit packets when you get low. You've done well, purposefully planning ahead for your success. Don't let disorganization end badly what started so well! 

A little organization and effort before the need arises will pay off in many ways later on, not the least of which is your own feeling of accomplishment when you successfully and professionally snag that new recruit. Feel free to share tips about recruit packets in a comment below.

Dream BIG!

Price Increases: Sticking to your guns

A big problem that sometimes occurs a couple of years into demonstratorship happens when we realize we need to raise our prices.

Prices are raised for any number of very legitimate reasons, including increased costs, whether of raw product, supply costs, or gas prices; new costs such as developing babysitting expenses or having to rent a larger space; or simply the realization that one is making only pennies for precious time spent away from family.

However logical those reasons may be, raising your fees can be a deal-breaking moment for some of your periphrial customers and is not for the faint of heart. Many of us raise them incrementally, hoping customers will not realize it, and others come to the end of their ropes and "rip the Band-Aid off," so to speak, getting it over with quickly. There are things to be said for both views. 

Sometimes demonstrators assume that because the price of gas and groceries has gradually gone up, customers will also be reasonable and realize the same is true of the costs of cardstock and shipping. Not to be a discouragement, I'd like to warn you that this in not usually the case.

When people realize they are paying more for the same product or service, there is a very normal negative reaction. Now, we hope that this negativity is immediately tempered by rational internal dialogue, with the end result being the customer swiftly comes to the conclusion that you had no choice but to raise prices. In reality, some will not be able to overcome that initial negative reaction and it will take them time to adjust to the "new normal."

If you choose the "rip the Band-Aid off" method of raising your prices, I encourage you to be prepared in advance for lower attendance, upset emails, and a few who drop out entirely. It is not subtle and it should be accompanied by a simple, short and sweet explanation just to your customer friends that are affected (no mass emails). It should also not be undertaken lightly or without a good deal of forethought and feedback from trusted, experienced sources. However, there are cases where this approach is completely necessary, and sometimes it is not as bad as you think it is going to be.

I once came to the realization that I was providing too many projects for a monthly hostess club. I continued to do so for months simply because I was afraid I would lose them by cutting down the projects, and I didn't feel good about raising the minimum order required each month. If I might say so frankly, that was very foolish. I do not work my tail off full time in order to subsidize my friends' hobbies. I looked for ways to sub in cheaper supplies and save on paper, but it was not enough. So eventually I had to bite the bullet and tell them I was cutting one of the projects. And you know what? I didn't lose any of them.

I encourage you not to wait until you have lost a lot of money, or a little money gradually over a long period of time. Here are some take-away tips to remember when considering your pricing structure.

• DO YOUR MATH so that you know exactly what your costs are. Be sure to add all incidentals like gas, room rental, food, paper goods and business forms, too, as well as any assistants or babysitters you paid. You might be surprised at how little the projects actually cost, but how much the "extras" do.

• Be intentional when setting your prices--never pull a figure out of the air and NEVER just price a class the same as always just because that's what you've always charged.

• Stick to your guns. Remember how bad you felt when you realized you did not make any money at all, rather paid some out of your own pocket, for that one event. Recall the feelings you experienced as you drove home that night and did the math, coming to the conclusion that you had paid people to come to their friend's house and use up your stamping supplies.

• The less involved your customers are, the less likely they are to accept the changes with postivity. So the best advice I can give you on raising your prices is to do your level best to provide even more excellent customer service and foster that sense of relationship with your stamping friends. Up your intangibles in equal proportion to how high you are being forced to up the tangibles.

• You are not here to subsidize anyone else's hobby. No reasonable person, no true friend, could possibly expect that. Some customer friends may need fuller explanations or more time to process the changes and get over your new fees, and you should try to stay calm and professional and try not to get upset or take it personally.

• If you do lose some customers, it's ok to look at your fees and reevaluate to make sure you are being reasonable, but don't cave in right away.  You can tell them truthfully that your business is a work in progress, and you will be analyzing the results every few months and reassessing the situation. You may not revise your prices at all in the end, but your customer will have time to adjust, to ponder the reasons you outlined for the increase, and eventually will probably work it out.

While raising your prices may not be popular, it may be absolutely crucial to the survival of your business. I'd encourage you to leave comments here if you would like to relate any additional tips or personal experiences for your fellow demonstrators. And then take a moment when you're planning out your upcoming classes to make sure that you are being intentional with your prices, and realistic as to the actual expenses you face. Your business will be the better for it, I promise.

Dream BIG!

Setting goals for your stamping blog

What do you want from your blog? Do you know? Have you ever really thought about it beyond, "it's fun?"

"The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don’t define them, or ever seriously consider them as believable or achievable. Winners can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure with them." ~Denis Waitley

I've been reading Typepad For Dummies (thanks, hubby!) and the authors give some good thoughts on goal-setting for your blog (interspered here with my own stamping-specific thoughts and paraphrases):

• Consider what motivates you. Why did you start the blog? What keeps you going on days when you think, "I haven't posted today. I really should... but I don't want to?" You goal could be sales, connection with your customers, educating your downline, simple sharing, or all of the above.
• Once you decide what you want out of your blog, it's time to evaluate whether or not you are doing that job or meeting those goals. Has it become a valuable source of information for your downline? Is it a place where your customers go when they need inspiration? Is it a jumping-off place for your DBWS, generating sales?
• Break down those big goals into increments. Write them down somewhere so you can reevaluate those goals and decide if you need to take a new approach.
• Try to transform intangible goals into tangible ones, and non-specific goals into specific ones. How will saying "I want to make money from this blog" play out in real life?
• Deal in facts. Concentrate on subscribers, not page views--and definitely not comments. One comment for every 100 views is unfortunately not at all uncommon, and should never be taken as indicative of whether or not readers are enjoying your blog. Page views are great, but can be falsely inflating. One subscriber means one person.
• Be aware of blog reading trends--slow down times, weeks where people's attention is drawn elsewhere by a big news event or major holiday. Don't get discouraged over a traffic dip that everyone is experiencing--not just you.
• If you have multiple goals for your blog, consider an editorial calendar. This will cover what you write and when you write it. For instance, say you want to make sure you  mention the business opportunity once per week, along with regular posts targeted to the scrapbookers amongst your stampers. or you want to post a card sketch or color combo on a specific day of the week. Planning the week's posts out on an editorial calendar--or even just scrawled in your planner or a Post it Note stuck to the monitor--can help you stay on top of that general schedule.
• Focus on what you can control. Other people's reading habits are not controllable, ultimately. Make it as easy as possible to get to, read, comment on and subscribe to your blog, of course-- but set your own goals and work towards those, letting go of what is beyond our control.

Finally, I reccomend a SHORT (it's too easy to get carried away when viewing stamping blogs)and specific analytical browse through no more than four blogs. Look over the most recent posts and think about what their blogging goals might be. Are they working towards those goals? What are they doing/covering well? In what areas could some of them improve?

Just being aware of your blog as a tool to help you get somewhere is a huge step in the right direction. Being mindful of the blog's place in your larger business scheme will help you stay motivated to keep it up and turn it into an even more useful tool than it has been in the past.

Dream Big!

 

100 tips for staying busy during slow times

I get asked all the time for ideas to kick start a dying business or get a brand new one off the ground. It's a very common direct-sales place to be--either just starting out and already discouraged, or several years in and beginning to lag. We hit a dead period where no one wants to book (like the holidays, or right when school is starting) and things slow to a crawl.

Whether the first blush of excitement has begun to wear off, or you are established but feeling like things might be stagnating, try one or two of these tips and keep that enthusiasm going even during a slow period.

1. add one new event to your lineup for the year
2. work on recruit packets or replenish your workshop folders
3. send Shelli Gardner a card
4. create a game for your next downline meeting
5. weed out your email inbox
6. create a Facebook business page and get your friends to "like" it
7. send a card to each downline member or especially out of state ones
8. browse a blog long enough to get just ONE idea and go do it before you browse again
9. go through and update your mailing list
10. repaint your stamp room a cheerful, inspiring color
11. hold a booking blitz
12. make up quarter sheet ads for Online Ordering to go in each order bag
13. put together a basket for the next charity raffle/auction you will be asked to do
14. work on swaps for an upcoming event
15. hold an open stamping night once a month
16. write your name and number on all your order forms ahead of time
17. print off flyers for upcoming promotions or go get copies made
18. change up the samples on your display board
19. hold a week of color challenges for yourself
20. start a blog or start a new feature on your blog
21. open Customer Manager and type a couple things about each person into the Notes box
22. work on some cute but simple hostess gifts
23. start your Christmas Cards for next year
24. volunteer at the local Ronald McDonald House
25. send in a suggestion (or two or three) to the Suggestion Box
26. register for a craft fair in your area
27. create your own blog header with My Digital Studio
28. submit something for the monthly contest in Stampin' Success
29. wheel all your order forms with a pretty stamp
30. put some Decor Elements on your car
31. look into starting a class at the local library or senior center
32. visit Stampin' Connection with the sole purpose of answering five basic questions from some clueless new demonstrators
33. take a package of cards to a local shop to consider for consignment
34. wash your demo apron
35. go back and add a link to your store to every blog post that didn't have one
36. make a card using the Ala Carte template in Stampin' Success
37. buy some new digital downloads and play with them right away
38. make up a coupon sheet
39. invent a new technique by combining two of them
40. pick a charity and plan a benefit event for it
41. sketch out some rough ideas for the next Artisan Award contest
42. inventory your pads and papers
43. stamp with your kids and don't sweat the mess
44. hold your own workshop
45. pick a troublesome stamp set and go look through Stampin' Connection for ideas
46. make yourself a flower brooch on the Big Shot
47. run an email-only 24 hour special
48. send out a customer satisfaction survey
49. check all your pens and markers for dry ones and order new if needed
50. join an online swap or start your own
51. go over your downline and see who is close to promoting and call them with encouragement
52. choose one old set and challenge yourself to use it three new ways
53. actually read all the articles in this month's Stampin' Success
54. visit mydigitalstudio.net
55. send a reminder email about the fabulous Clearance Rack
56. do one of Shelli's creative challenges
57. take a downline out for coffee
58. do a big co-event with an upline or sideline
59. arrange a time to come in and make a craft at your child's school
60. get a family picture and make up a photo card
61. mark your catalog with all the sets, wheels and punches you own
62. set up a "paper scraps only" recycle bin next to your stamp room trash
63. make up a handout for your next downline meeting
64. put up a chalboard or a white board for your office to-do list
65. make some business card refrigerator magnets to put in orders
66. separate out your retired stamps
67. plan a rubber rummage sale
68. send a card to any dropped downlines
69. start scrapbooking, or start an inspirational quotes scrapbook
70. pick a motto for the year and stamp it in a pretty frame
71. send an elderly relative some cards and postage stamps to use
72. read through recent Current Updates to make sure something fun didn't slip your mind
73. order yourself a fun new embellishment in a color you normally wouldn't
74. start a referral program, 50/50 board or a frequent buyer card
75. call up a past hostess and ask her if she'd like to schedule her yearly party
76. weed out your swap basket of everything that has retired colors or sets
77. make a piece of Simply Adorned jewelry just for you
78. schedule a scrapbooking retreat at a local retreat house
79. wipe down every surface, doorknob, handle in your office with an antibacterial wipe
80. clean all your stamps and wipe out the cases with a baby wipe
81. submit entries for a color challenge on Splitcoast Stampers
82. print out some templates from the Printing Place and make them up
83. make a sample ring for the Big Shot with different materials
84. arrange a family picnic, couples' night or Christmas event with your downline families.
85. plan a road trip to an SU event
86. google "free demo inspiration blog" and have fun browsing
87. contact your local Welcome Wagon or Chamber of Commerce
88. call your last hostess and ask if everything was great with her order and if she had questions
89. trade parties with a friend in another home business
90. send your upline(s) a card
91. make a piece of home decor or framed art
92. write up a little article on what wish you had known when you started
93. plan a shoebox swap for area demonstrators
94. send a reminder postcard about gift certificates to your customers' significant others
95. "Like" Stampin' Up and Shelli Gardner on Facebook
96. improve the lighting or wash your curtains or blinds ad windows in your stamp room
97. buy a clock, mug, tissue box cover, photo cube or other alterable item
98. plan out what you will need for the next quarter's classes
99. work on items to sell at a craft fair, coffee shop or Etsy shop
100. order a stamp set and plan a product-based stamp camp around it.

Dream BIG and stay busy, friend!

 

Ten Tips for Large Events

Tip#1--do not wait until the night before to start cutting for your event. If you do this, you will have left yourself zero time to change your projects when you figure out that your math was faulty when you ordered. You will also wind up unable to move your cutting arm the next day and be knocking on your chiropractor's door first thing Monday morning. Ask me how I know.

Tip #2--have plenty of trash bags around, or be prepared to spend ten minutes crawling around the room on your hands and knees picking up dimensional backs and red liner strips. I use white paper lunch stacks with the tops cut down, quickly dressed up with a cute wheel stamp. Don't plan on reusing those, though, unless you enjoy the smell of rotted banana and old coffee, because somebody always crams their snack trash in there. Hello?

Tip#3--bring one extra sheet of cardstock in every color that you used for the event. This will cover your backside in case you forgot to cut something entirely, blearily miscounted layer pieces at eleven last night, or didn't keep track of who RSVP'd as closely as you maybe should have. It is especially important if THAT stamper is there--you know, the one who will obliviously use up three persons' worth of cardstock because she keeps messing up.

Tip#4--bring extra adhesive. A LOT of extra adhesive. No matter how many times you remind them to bring their own, at least ten percent of the attendees will forget. Another ten percent will show up 15-30 minutes late clutching JoAnn's bags because they bought it on the way. Another ten percent will forget, but be too embarassed to tell you, so will share with a friend, and then they will both run out.

Tip#5.1--bring substantial sustenance along. You'll need it. You probably didn't eat anything on your way out the door, and coconut M&M's and coffee are not going to cut it until you get home four hours later. Keep a granola bar in your rolling tote at all times. Preferably one of the chocolate "candy bar in disguise" granola bars.

Tip#5.2--set the snacks out first, before setting anything else up, so the early-early-birds will have something to do other than hover while you are trying to get the rest of your stations set up.

Tip#6--hire an assistant for the event. Get someone whom you have observed for a while and are sure will work hard and not try to swipe the spotlight. I suggest a downline, because it's going to be awesome training for them as you explain how you like things set up and why you do certain tasks the way you do. And get someone who is physically strong enough to restrain you, when you realize that somebody broke your Big Shot and forgot to tell you.

Tip #7--irritatingly slow stampers? Try peppier music next time. Spike the coffee with shots of espresso. Skip the padded seats and go for the ice cold metal folding chairs. Or do like one demo I heard of, who dinged a bell every ten minutes at her 10 for $10 event.

Got people who are incapable of talking and stamping at the same time? Turn the peppy music up LOUD.

Tip#8--head the bargain hunters off at the pass. Post your special for the event, if you're offering one, in a nice obvious place, and use big lettering and small, easy to understand words. If they try to use an additional coupon or combine offers, stick to your guns.

If all else fails, shift them off onto your assistant. Let her do their check-out process. It will be easier for her to say no on your behalf, without turning red and yelling "NO! For the last time, NO! I will not give you my Instant Income and my firstborn son!"

Tip #9--have cute flyers and sign up sheets handy for your upcoming events. Theoretically, everyone is going to have so much fun today, that they will not want it to be over. Get them to sign on the dotted line (and preferably pay in advance) while they are still enthused. Have the sheets mysteriously disappear when that troublesome customer walks by--you know, the one who tried to pay you with a side of venison (true story).

Tip #10--when it's all over and you're back on the couch with your aching feet up, starving and buzzed from drinking too much coffee on an empty stomach, surrounded by bags to unpack--remind yourself that it's all worth it. This is the best job ever. The small irritations are outweighed one hundred-fold by the joy of teaching women how to feel creative and make pretty, useful things for themselves and their loved ones.

Dream.... and LAUGH.... BIG!

Cold Call Codewords

Today I'd like to share a quick idea with you that I got from my Service Account Manager that is designed to help you conquer that phone phobia, and actually look forward to making your booking calls. Wouldn't we all love a magic bullet like that? I don't know about you, but I do not typically enjoy making phone calls. For the first five years of my demonstratorship, I avoided them at all costs--even to the point where I was obviously losing business.

Having identified this as my worst business weakness, I have set about working on conquering it. So for all of you out there who know phone calls are not your strong suit, consider this easy idea for making people glad that you called!

Felicia shared with me the idea of advertising via email, Facebook and blog, that I was going to call everyone on my customer list on a certain date, and if they could tell me a special "codeword" when I called, they would win a prize.

This accomplishes several things. First, it generates anticipation. They know you are going to call and invite them to host a party, and that they can win a cool freebie for doing it. Secondly, it cuts down on your time. If they are prepared in advance to receive your call, you will not have to launch into a scripted spiel for each phone call (I tend to babble to fill the silence) and repeat the same info for each call. Third, it does not give you an out. You HAVE to call those customers now, because they are expecting it and they want their freebie!

Actually, the call is now no longer a true "cold" call--you are inviting them to a specific event--their workshop; and you have prepped them to expect your call. That's a "warm" lead now! You can also help yourself stay the course by interspersing easier calls to past hostesses (who are more likely to book) with customers who have never hosted before.

Wouldn't it be easier to face those phone calls if you were sure that the person on the other line was looking forward to your call? Consider this simple codeword game to help you conquer that "mental mountain" during your next booking blitz.

Dream BIG!